Argun Ivan Petrovich

1729-1802 (Kuskovo Estate Moscow Guben (?))

Painter

born in the family castle of Prince AM Cherkasky, who then retreated to the Count P. Sheremetyev, son of Field Marshal Boris Sheremetev. He was educated in St. Petersburg in the family of his uncle, SM Argunova, butler "Millions of home, belonging to Prince Cherkassky first, then Sheremetev. Around 1746-1749 he studied at G.-H. Groot.

worked in the field of portraiture and religious painting. He painted the icons for the Resurrection Church Tsarskoselskogo Palace, the Annunciation Church of the Resurrection Monastery in New Jerusalem. Repeatedly came to Moscow for assignments PB Sheremetev. In the 1750 - 1760-x the portraits for a family picture graphs Sheremetyevy in Kuskovo. Worked for private orders.

In late 1760-s was appointed manager of "Millions of homes in St. Petersburg. In 1788 he moved to Moscow and became the manager of the Moscow House NP Sheremetev. In recent years, almost no painting, focusing on economic activity.

Argunova disciples were his sons - Paul (architect), Nicholas and Jacob (painter). In 1753-1758 on the orders of Empress Elizabeth taught painting four disciples - AP Losenko, I. Sablukova, KI Golovacheskogo the name of the fourth student did not know .

exhibition of paintings were held in Moscow (1952, 1975).

Argunov - an outstanding Russian painter of the second half of XVIII century. In his early works, created under the influence Groot (portraits II and EI Lobanov-Rostovsky (1750 and 1754)), still feels some stiffness and rigidity poses inherent in the art parsuna. The flowering of the artist's account at the end of 1750 - 1760-ies and is connected with the aesthetics of the Rococo. Created in this period of work in developing the basic types of ceremonial and poluparadnogo portrait, unusually diverse in artistic and technical methods. Along with the conservative to solution composition and figurative works that appear in the works Argunova works that are characterized by innovative features, in particular interest in the internal life of the model. The artist was among the first Russian art applied to a type of "genre" of a portrait, a model for "occupation" or surrounded by the attributes of professional work (portraits of the couple's Khripunova (1757), Kalmyk Annushka (1767), "Self" (1760-e)) , historical portrait (image BP and AV Sheremetyevy (both - 1768), BP Sheremetev in armor, A. and M. ; Yu Cherkassky (all - 1760-e)). If the portraits of the painter's contemporaries sought to create an atmosphere of refined and at the same time relaxed secularism inherent in the Rococo, in posthumous portraits, by contrast, are predominant features of the Baroque. In them, the apt remark OS Evangulovoy and A. Karev, "has become part of history as a way to impress in color, like the image on a commemorative coin. Last Argunova known works date from the second half of 1780.

In general, an artist's work marked the beginning of a new stage in the process of mastering the principles of European portraiture and served as a bridge between the middle of the XVIII century paintings and works of famous portrait painters of the second half of the century - F. Rokotov , D. Levitsky and V. Borovikovsky.

Argunova works are in many museum collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, State Russian Museum, State Historical Museum, State Hermitage Museum, State Museum of Ceramics and Kuskovo XVIII Century, and others.